Brand USA Teams up with ESPN to Showcase American Sports and Tourism
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NEWS RELEASE Brand USA teams up with ESPN to showcase American sports and tourism February 04, 2013 ESPN and Brand USA, the tourism marketing body for the United States of America, have reached an agreement to develop an innovative, multi-territory online collaboration. Through the partnership, Brand USA and ESPN will deliver advertising and special interest content to sports fans across the UK and Europe via their proprietary websites, ESPNAmerica.com and DiscoverAmerica.com. Through the partnership, Brand USA aims to educate and inspire more international visitors to the United States by showcasing the best that American sport and recreation have to offer. The agreement launches with three initial elements in the coming weeks, and will introduce a range of new elements over the course of the long-term relationship. The three initial elements are: United States of Sport: Housed online at ESPNAmerica.com and on an ESPN-brandedsection within DiscoverAmerica.com – Brand USA’s consumer-facing website. United States of Sport profiles sport and tourism in all 50 U.S. states through a range of bespoke audio- visual and text content, including specially-produced branded features on each state, which focus on sports and recreational tourism opportunities rooted in each state’s distinct sporting heritage and made possible by each destination’s unique landscape and culture. The branded features will run online, as well as on ESPN’s TV networks across Europe. United States of Sport also includes a range of information and background about recreational opportunities available across the United States, as well as each state’s sporting teams and venues. U.S. Sports Team Picker - ‘Get in the Game’: An opportunity for sports fans to find out more about U.S. sports and sports tourism in the USA. Get in the Game is a bespoke online tool housed online at ESPNAmerica.com and on an ESPN-branded section within DiscoverAmerica.com. Sports fans can find out which sporting team in the USA they should support by inputting their sporting passions and personal interests, plus other information, such as the U.S. state they plan to holiday in and the game will provide them the closest match to their set of circumstances. Whether it’s American football, baseball or basketball, Get in the Game is sure to inspire visitors. Media Sponsorships: Last weekend (1 – 4 February), DiscoverAmerica.com sponsored NFL Super Bowl XLVII coverage on ESPN America in mainland Europe, the Middle East and Northern Africa. Additionally, from 1 March, and providing sustained and ongoing promotion for Brand USA, DiscoverAmerica.com will sponsor a range of programming through ESPN’s TV networks across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. These include: o ESPN (UK & Ireland): Season-long sponsorship of football debate show ESPN FC Press Pass; season-long sponsorships of MLS and MLB programming o ESPN AMERICA (UK, Ireland and Nordic regions feed): Season-long sponsorships of MLB programming and, daily news and information show SportsCenter o ESPN AMERICA (mainland Europe, the Middle East and Northern Africa): Season- long sponsorships of MLB programming; season- long sponsorships of NFL programming, and, daily news and information show SportsCenter Alan Fagan, Director of Advertising Sales, ESPN - Europe, Middle East & Africa said: “In regions throughout the world, ESPN understands fans and their sporting passions. We understand local interests and context, and of course, we also have the leading global position in American sports. That makes us uniquely placed to connect fans throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa to Brand USA and the great tradition, competition and aspirational elements of US sport. Through this long-term collaboration, ESPN offers a relevant and authentic environment for Brand USA to achieve commercial objectives, delivers useful and engaging content to fans and highlights ESPN’s ability to deliver unique solutions for advertisers.” Brand USA teams up with ESPN to showcase American sports and tourism. Page 1 Jay Gray, Vice President of Global Partnership Development, Brand USA, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with such an established brand as ESPN. Through this multifaceted campaign we aim to inspire visitors to look at American sports and the diverse and unique recreational tourism opportunities available in the United States.” Gray continued: “We are committed in our activities across Europe and in particular in the UK market, the largest overseas visitor market to the United States, and very much look forward to developing further initiatives that will speak directly to the consumer.” The campaign showcases the diversity of sporting experiences available in the United States of America in a fresh and unexpected light, inviting visitors to “Discover this land, like never before.” About ESPN ESPN, Inc. is the world’s leading multinational, multimedia sports entertainment company featuring a portfolio of over 50 multimedia sports assets. ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc., which is an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. The Hearst Corporation holds a 20 percent interest in ESPN. ESPN International has grown to include ownership — in whole or in part — of 48 television networks outside of the United States, as well as a variety of brand extension businesses, which allow ESPN to reach fans in 200 countries and territories. In the UK, ESPN now includes a portfolio of television and digital brands including ESPN, ESPN HD, ESPN Classic, ESPN America and ESPN America HD, ESPN.co.uk, ESPNCricinfo.com, ESPNFC.com, ESPNScrum.com, ESPNF1.com, ESPN Goals and ESPN Player (broadband). ESPN and ESPN HD feature exclusive live coverage of the Barclays Premier League, the FA Cup, Aviva Premiership Rugby, Clydesdale Bank Premier League, UEFA Europa League, Italian Serie A, German Bundesliga, UFC, NBA and much more. ESPN Classic now has five networks (UK, French, Italian, pan-European and Middle Eastern feeds) available in more than 40 countries. ### About Brand USA Brand USA, the destination marketing organization for the United States, was established by the Travel Promotion Act as the nation's first public-private partnership to promote the United States as a premier travel destination and to communicate U.S. travel policies and procedures to worldwide travelers. The organization’s mission is to increase international visitation to the USA in order to fuel the U.S. economy and enhance the image of the United States worldwide. Formed as the Corporation for Travel Promotion in 2010, the public- private entity began operations in May 2011 and does business as Brand USA. According to studies by Oxford Economics, over the past eight years Brand USA's marketing initiatives have helped welcome 7.6 million incremental visitors to the United States, benefiting the U.S. economy with more than $55.7 billion in total economic impact and supporting, on average, more than 45,000 incremental jobs a year. To discover more about the USA and the boundless diversity of American travel experiences and authentic, rich culture, please visit Brand USA’s consumer website VisitTheUSA.com and follow Visit The USA on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. About GoUSA TV Because every place has a story. GoUSA TV is a premier travel entertainment channel, available at your fingertips with no subscription, no fees and no logins required. Watch full episodes, documentaries and films, told from the diverse perspectives of real people across America. Download. Escape. Explore. GoUSA TV. GoUSA TV is available for download on your iOS or Android device, or on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Samsung TV Plus. Brand USA teams up with ESPN to showcase American sports and tourism. Page 2.